"Who is going to save our Church? Not our bishops, not our priests and religious. It is up to you, the people. You have the minds, the eyes, the ears to save the Church. Your mission is to see that your priests act like priests, your bishops, like bishops, and your religious act like religious." - Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, 1972

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I whole heartedly agree with this assessment. I have to add however that David the VA failed miserably as advisor to Apron, Adrian for bringing this cult into Guam. Their incompetent leadership is the reason the ship is sinking.

Neocats at IssueOn Settimo Cielo (available in Italian only), some hubbub at the Synod brings Sandro Magister back to boil about one of his more prominent pet peeves: the Neocatechumenal Way.

In January, Magister posted a piece which ripped the Neocats' liturgical practice

There is a glaring contrast between [Ecclesia de Eucharistia], [Redemptionis Sacramentum], and the indications for the eucharistic year on the one hand, and the liturgical practices of the Neocatechumenal Way on the other.

[T]o justify the liturgical praxis of the Way... [Neocat founders] Kiko and Carmen... recount to their disciples their own highly particular history of the mass, according to which the great merit of the Way is that of restoring the celebration of the mass to its original purity.....

[The following are from the texts of Kiko and Carmen, quoted by Sandro]

"The rigidity and fixity of the Council of Trent generated a static mentality in the liturgy, which has persisted to our day, quick to be scandalized by any change or transformation. And this is an error, because the liturgy is life, a reality of the Spirit living among men. For this reason, it can never be bottled up"...

"Having emerged from a legalistic and rigid mentality, we witnessed at Vatican II a profound renewal of the liturgy. The cloaks that had covered the eucharist were removed from it. It is interesting to see that originally, the anaphora [the prayer of consecration] was not written, but was improvised by the presider"...

"The Church has tolerated inauthentic forms for centuries. Thus it is seen that the 'Gloria,' which was part of the liturgy of the hours recited by the monks, entered into the mass when a single celebration was made of the two actions, and that the 'Credo' emerged with the appearance of heresies and apostasies. Even the 'Orate Fratres' is a culminating example of the prayers with which the mass was stuffed full"...

Wow. This almost sounds ghostwritten by someone of the hyper-prog ilk. But, no, it comes from the NeoCats, who have three seminaries in the US and are about to open one up in Sydney of all places.

If they hate Trent so much, I wonder what Kiko and Carmen make of the Big Red Thing that ate Cardinal Pell in Dusseldorf.

Back to the Synod, Magister writes that two Arguello-friendly bishops -- one from Poland and one from Guam -- rose to advocate the extension of the Neocatechumenal Way's liturgical praxis and theology to the entire church. These changes would include moving the sign of peace to precede the offertory procession, smaller Masses to allow for an increased liturgical intimacy -- possibly one which has different Masses designated for differing levels of involvement in the church's life -- and "above all," the distribution of communion to the faithful in their seats (i.e. sitting down).

According to Zbigniew Kiernikowski of Siedice, the Polish bishop cited, these modifications are necessary to remind the people that the Mass was established as "a banquet." "The bread must have the aspect of food, and the chalice must be given to drink," Kiernikowski said in his intervention.

Um... sorry, Charlie -- Waterford Crystal is verboten.

According to Magister, Archbishop Anthony Apuron of Agana on Guam, a Capuchin, agreed with Kiernikowski. Speaking of giving communion to seated congregants, Apuron said that it was "the most apt posture" in the light of the nature of the Eucharist as banquet."

The Archdiocese is sinking because the Leadership has lost has lost its soul. The sinking began 25 years ago what we see now is a leadership in such moral decay it can no longer stand. The People of Guam see through the Apuron scam. The time is coming when for the sake of survival and honor the people of Guam will join the protestors shouting for the removal of Anthony Apuron. The Archbishop leaves a divided church a church where unity is divided by him who is meant to be a symbol of unity.

Back in 2008: https://tasithoughts.com/2008/07/06/the-growing-neocatechumenal-controversy-and-chasm-in-the-catholic-church/

"I recently received a phone call from a close friend in Guam. I grew up there and so I was getting the usual run down on the latest news and updates from the island. Part way through the discussion , my friend started telling me about his frustration about a group in the Catholic Church that are causing issues there.He started talking about Neo-Cats ( people who follow the Neocatechumenal Way) and their influence on the Catholic Archdiocese there. Apparently, they have garnered such an influence that they hold key positions of influence, including that of approving new priests into the parishes on Guam. According to my friend, only new priests who ascribe to the neocatechumenal way are allowed assignment to the parish.Apparently, the Archbishop in Guam has allegedly become a Neo Cat supporter. This has made this issue even more controversial for many parishioners and priests. Appproximately 98% of Guam’s population is Roman Catholic and problems in the Church has an effect on the whole community.

My friend’s whole argument is not with the Neo Cat movment itself but with its undue influence upon the church. It has become an “either their way or no way” type of environment. Neo Cat followers have become aggressive in their approach in the archdiocese with no tolerance to other communities within the Church.

Recently during a visit from certain Vatican leaders to Guam, my friend and several parishisners from throughout the island staged a prayerful protest outside the Agana Basilica. In song and prayer ( with signs) they advocated the Universal and Apostolic Church. Some young High School student protestors were scolded by a Neo Cat follower and called “Protestants!”

After the phone call, I was amazed at what my friend had shared with me. I had no idea there was such a chasm going on within the Catholic Church. I have not attended Church or been a practicing Catholic in years. I had not heard about the Neocatechumenal movement or “Neocat.” I decided to find out more. Something was happening back at Guam that was causing some of the most religious and non-activists people I know to protest for their faith."